Middle Level Family Involvement

In our studies of best middle level practices, we found that a commonly overseen component of student success is family involvement. It is essential to help support students at this stage of development through communication with parents, parent volunteering, and parent involvement in the decision making process.

Communication with families strongly correlates with student success. This is visible through regular parent-teacher conferences, student work and progress being sent home to parents, notices on policies and changes, school newsletters, and more. This communication is essential in order for students to be aware of their own progress and success, as well as keeping students and parents informed about policies and course offerings. Parents are able to monitor their students’ success, understand school policies, and to address any students’ issues with the teachers through this open communication. In order for this to happen, teachers must work diligently to ensure effective communicate with parents to relay any pertinent information.

The volunteering aspect is an important way to show families that they are able to become involved in their student’s school experience. This can be shown through joining a Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), helping in the classroom, and attending and/or organizing events to help support the school. Through this, parents are able to be around their child’s teachers more often and understand teachers’ job responsibilities and know that they are welcome in the school building. Students will have opportunities to practice the skill of effective communication with adults as parent involvement becomes more integrated. Teachers will also be able to rely on parents to help support them in what they do. Overall, parents involvement in the school, in whatever they are able to help, will aid in creating a positive environment for all involved.

Involving families in the decision making process is a significant way for parents to become  involved in regulating the regional education policies that directly affect their children. Students are able to see that they not only have rights, but their rights are supported by the adults in their community. Families are able to be aware of policies and decisions that are made in school districts and give their input to help improve policies surrounding their child’s education. Teachers are able to understand parents’ perspectives on their child’s learning, which in turn, allows teachers to better adjust their teaching styles and classroom practices to meet the needs of the students.

In my experience, students have a hard time separating school from home when there are significant issues in their life at home. Students do not behave or perform at their best when they are facing instability in their homes, so an effective method of communication with parents is key to understanding how to best support the needs of students at any given time. Often teacher to parent conversations also help to solidify the importance of education in the student’s lives. The more parents are involved in their child’s education, the more they will see it necessary to support the student’s academic needs at home, thus providing students with opportunities to focus on academics at home as well as in school.

Middle Level Advisory

Middle school is a time when students are at a very unique stage in their development, in which they require proper support systems in place to help accommodate to their academic, social, emotional, and developmental needs. Having a teaming system in place helps break the school into smaller groups where students have a sense of community and belonging, however school systems can go further than this to ensure student success. Advisory is a time where students are able to get the support they need by having individualized attention while the time is focused on community building and goal setting. Groups of students are overseen by their advisor, who facilitates activities that get students interacting with one another and forming a community within their advisory. This time is important to help students see middle school as a place where they not only can succeed, but a place where students feel like they belong. To help students to feel that sense of belongingness, advisory is where a sense of community and purpose can be found within each student. Advisory is also  a time where students work on their Personalized Learning Plans, with their advisor there to guide them in brainstorming steps to achieve the goals they set. Academically, this advisory time is essential to helping students form goals and helping track their progress so teachers are best able to assist them.

It is clear that advisory is an essential time within the school day, but I argue that it is preferred for advisory to meet at the beginning of the day for all middle level students. This gives students a place where they can transition from their home environment to their school environment, getting their minds ready to focus on learning. Many activities within advisory give students the opportunity to share about themselves if they wish to, which is a great way for students to get to know one another and build connections within their advisory community. Advisory is a time for positive student interaction through guided activities, which is a beneficial way for students to start their day. If students are excited about an advisory activity or a new fact they learned about a friend in advisory, they are more likely to start the day off with a smile on their face or a positive attitude going into their  classes following advisory. Another benefit of advisory being at the beginning of the day involves the PLP work that students do. When students start off their day by thinking about their PLP's and the goals they have set, along with steps they need to achieve them, the goals will be in their mind throughout the beginning of the day, allowing them to see opportunities to work toward their goals in the classes they have following advisory.